Embattled Escondido police chief to step down

Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher, who was placed on paid leave seven weeks ago pending an investigation into undisclosed “personnel matters,” announced Wednesday that he will retire in December.

“It is hard to leave, but it is clear to me that it is time to move on,” Maher said in a statement issued by the city.

Maher has been a controversial figure in Escondido since taking over the Police Department six years ago.

Supporters have praised him for reducing crime and hit-and-run crashes by conducting frequent traffic safety checkpoints. But critics say the checkpoints and a close relationship between Escondido police and federal immigration officials have compromised the Police Department’s relationship with many Latinos, who make up 49 percent of the city’s population.

Maher’s decision to retire upset supporters Wednesday, but had critics hoping it would lead to a change in city policies.

“I’m utterly speechless,” said Natali Galt, a community leader who organizes the city’s annual Christmas Parade. She credited the chief with making Escondido a safer place to live. “This is a tremendous loss for the residents of the city.”

But Kevin Keenan, executive director of the ACLU in San Diego, said Maher’s policies often violated the constitutional rights of residents and too often targeted Latinos.

“He will leave a mixed legacy,” Keenan said. “I don’t think his years of public service should be given short shrift, but he took an overly aggressive approach toward Latinos and immigrants.”

Many of Maher’s supporters have suggested City Manager Clay Phillips forced the chief out because of friction between the two men. Maher showed strong support for the police labor union during tense negotiations in 2011 and early 2012, and he declined a pay raise that Phillips offered all of his top managers last winter.

Phillips has declined to comment on whether his relationship with Maher has soured. He said in mid-October that the personnel investigation that prompted Maher’s leave was launched after Maher showed Phillips evidence that two police employees might have engaged in improper conduct.

City officials haven’t revealed why Maher was placed on leave instead of the two employees, and they haven’t disclosed any other details about the probe, except that it’s being handled by an outside investigator hired by the city.

Wednesday’s statement from the city said that the probe was ongoing, but included no other information.

Maher declined in a phone interview Wednesday to explain why he announced his retirement before the investigation was complete. He referred questions to his attorney, labor litigation veteran Dick Castle, who said the statement from the city was the only information he could share.

Mayor Sam Abed declined to discuss Wednesday whether he was disappointed to see Maher leave before the investigation ended. He said no details about who would succeed Maher as chief would be available until after the investigation is complete.

“We appreciate the chief’s 32 years of service,” Abed said. “He’s done a good job keeping the city safe.”

Councilwoman Olga Diaz said Wednesday that she was surprised and disappointed by the news.

“I didn’t think it would lead to retirement,” said Diaz, who has clashed with Maher over traffic safety checkpoints and immigration issues. “The entire fiasco never made sense to me. Why would you put the chief on leave while you investigate possible wrongdoing by others?”

But the City Council has declined to get involved in the investigation, calling such a move improper meddling that could affect the outcome of the probe.

Galt, a lifelong Escondido resident, said Maher didn’t get enough credit for creating partnerships and said the chief’s policies had been misunderstood as targeting Latinos and immigrants.

“All he’s doing is holding up laws that are being broken by people who aren’t legal citizens,” she said.

But Keenan, the ACLU executive director, said Escondido should reconsider many of Maher’s policies, especially its unusual partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“He can’t be viewed as a champion of constitutional rights and he was a complete outlier stationing immigration agents inside Police Department headquarters,” Keenan said.

Maher, 57, has been chief since 2006 and a member of the department since June 1980. His annual salary is $150,000.